Is Cheating Contagious?

When you've been involved in a relationship that ended because of cheating, it's hard not to spend a lot of time thinking about it. Asking yourself questions like "What did I do wrong?" or "Why did I think they were so honest?" According to a recent Newsweek article, scientists have begun to question the idea that cheating is a cold, calculated, rational choice that is reinforced by how much a person thinks they can get away with before they risk being caught. But it might not be that simple.

What some recent studies have found is that cheating can be contagious. That's right. Seeing someone else getting away with something can prompt others to take that same risk, ideally, they hope, with similar positive results. The thing to keep in mind though is what the study also deduced - our "inner moralist," they conclude, "doesn't really want to cheat."

When someone gets caught cheating though, they're perceived as bad eggs. And no one likes that feeling. No one wants to be stigmatized as such. Cheating, this study found, can decline in "catchiness" when someone else gets caught doing the same thing.

In talking with our clients, so many of them try to make sense of being on the receiving end of the cheating. And some of them are even doing the cheating themselves. There's more to each individual situation however than what a broad scientific study determines. Cheating is incredibly complicated when it comes to matters of the heart. When you need to talk about what you're experiencing, we coaches are here - and we promise, you'll get only pure honesty from us.

→ If you've been in a relationship where cheating occurred, do you feel like it happened because someone was empowered by another to take that risk?